Repas de bébé

This film, along with nine other films, was shown at a Paris, mini-film festival, by pioneering filmmakers, the Lumiere brothers, in December of 1895. The seventh film ever shown to a paying audience, ends up being the first sequel too, when August Lumiere brings his kid back out for lunch time with the wife. They are both the main subjects in an earlier Lumiere film, shown about two minutes before this one, Fishing For Goldfish (1895). Watching this during a mini-festival in 1895 probably didn't register as a sequel. But looking back at it 130 years later, it is a prime, early example of a sequel. The baby must have tested well during all the test screenings. This is what is so cool watching films from the pioneering era of film.

7.8 (B- MyGrade) = 8 IMDB.

On a cold day of December in 1895, two photo technicians named Auguste and Louis Lumière rented the Salon Indien Du Grand Café to show the results of a series of experiments they had been making since 1892. As workers of their father's photographic firm, their work in the development of better process to make photographs wasn't unknown, but what the brothers showed to their limited audience that day was far beyond what anyone could have imagined. On that day, cinema was born, as the brothers' invention, the Cinématographe, allowed to project moving images on a screen, a considerable improvement over the popular Kinetoscope (which showed the images through a peephole). As photographers themselves, the brothers considered their invention to be the natural evolution of photography, so most of the movies they showed that day were done to show the idea that like photography, cinema was here to capture memories, albeit in a more vivid way.

Of the 10 short films the brothers screened on that historical day, most were of course devised to show the movement of the images (people walking, exercising, or simply the traffic passing on the street), but the others had specific purposes to show the brothers' ideas of what kind of uses give to the new invention. One was of course the shooting of the arrival of the Congress of Photographers in Lyon, aimed to show cinema as a new way to document history; there was also "L'Arroseur Arrosé", which showed cinema as a way to tell a simple and fun little story; and finally, there were the movies that, like photographs, captured family moments. "Repas De Bébé" (literally, "Baby's Meal") was one of that kind of movie, as the film showed Auguste Lumière and his wife Marguerite, while they are having breakfast with their baby daughter Andrée.

While one could even say that the movie doesn't have anything special besides the fact that it was among the first movies screened in history; "Repas De Bébé" is probably the movie that represents the Lumières' ideal of cinema the most, as like a photography, the movie captures a charming moment in the life of a family that can be revisited anytime, with the advantage of having it moving. This meant that we could not only remember how persons looked in the past, we were now able to see how they behaved, what they did or simply how they really lived. It was more than a documentary or an actuality film, this was essentially a memory being caught on film and saved for posterity. One can make the argument that film videos were born with this movie, and for that reason alone, "Repas De Bébé" has a special place in the history of film. 6/10

I watched this film on a DVD that was rammed with short films from the period. I didn't watch all of them as the main problem with these type of things that their value is more in their historical novelty value rather than entertainment. So to watch them you do need to be put in the correct context so that you can keep this in mind and not watch it with modern eyes. With the Primitives & Pioneers DVD collection though you get nothing to help you out, literally the films are played one after the other (the main menu option is "play all") for several hours. With this it is hard to understand their relevance and as an educational tool it falls down as it leaves the viewer to fend for themselves, which I'm sure is fine for some viewers but certainly not the majority. What it means is that the DVD saves you searching the web for the films individually by putting them all in one place – but that's about it.

Anyway onto this film which is barely even a minute long and focuses on two parents feeding their baby. It is an affectionate and tender shot that is free of anything of particular interest but is still quite engaging. Clearly made as part of the developmental process of getting to grips with the technology, the film doesn't aim for much but in regards its place in history it is maybe worth a look at. Lumière is considered the originator of cinema, so on that basis alone it is worth a glance. Don't expect to be able to understand the impact of the film though – to those of us now used to seeing different universes on our screens when we go to the cinema, it is difficult to forget that you'll looking at two people feeding a baby!

Louis Lumiere's brother, Auguste, and his wife sit at a table, in their garden, feeding their child - who sits between them. Shrubbery in the background rustles indicating a slight breeze. Perhaps the public, in 1896, would see this and wish they could preserve family scenes such as this for their posterity. Now, 107 years later, we can - on film or video. We have come a long way, baby!

One of the first films ever made, the film seems extremely primitive: there is no dialogue or plot or characters. However, in 1895, it was a new technological breakthrough. It is interesting to watch; the Lumière brothers were the first film makers and pretty much invented the technology, along with Edison.